


Lead you to the light, even if you don't want it

by painispeace



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Cancer, Civil War Team Iron Man, Hurt Tony Stark, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Terminal Illnesses, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Cancer, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22148878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painispeace/pseuds/painispeace
Summary: "Do you trust me?" she asked him, not even budging on the grip."Yes Tasha always but I have to..""Then do yourself a favour and don't! You will regret it.Get on the jet," she told him before going forward herself and pulling Tony into a hug.Steve was confused but he trusted Natasha.After one longing look, he decided to listen because he owed her one afterall and his strike team that included Bucky were calling at him to hurry up. But just before he headed to the mission he heard them mutter something."What's an oncologist," he asked Bucky as they took off."Why does Tony need one?"
Relationships: Natasha Romanov/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Stephen Strange
Comments: 12
Kudos: 156





	Lead you to the light, even if you don't want it

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: just needed to get this out of my system .It's like a rushed rant I typed up on my phone.

It had been three entire days since they got back.Every time he tried to get to Tony, Rhodey, the sorcerer or someone else got into his way.Tony was hiding something and Steve was concerned.Ugh no, scratch that, he was actually angry,raging inside that his boyfriend refused to even acknowledge that he was back.To top it all off,Tony spent most of his time in the lab with Dr.Cho and that strange magician.No one knew or at least Steve thought no one knew what did all of them have their heads bent over the entire time.

Fury gave him a scathing look as he walked up to him.It wasn't rare these days to be recipient of those angry, rage filled stares from several residents of the compound .Steve thought that he was trying to be the bigger man here by letting it all go."Sir,"Steve started trying to maintain a neural tone inspite of narrowed eyes and a air of dismissal around the director, "We have to know what's going on with Stark.We can't allow him to keep hiding things from team." Fury scoffed but Steve decided to continue, ignoring him, "We need to be able to trust our teammates.The last time it led to ultron--"

"Ah, I have to stop you right there Rogers," Fury interrupted."Have you not heard.Tony resigned and none of what he does concerns you anymore."Fury stated with a finality."Aren't you late for a mission soldier? Dismissed,'' Fury waved a hand and left without as much of sparing the captain a glance."

Steve stood there, gawking into the void."WH-What?" he muttered to himself. "Is he actually so petty that he would rather leave the planet defenseless than work with his old team," he said shaking his head.He had to get to Tony!

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Nat," Steve jogged up to her just before he was about to get on the quinjet."You know what's up with Stark?" he asked, an urgency and a strange possesiveness lurking in his tone.

That is when another jet landed on the adjacent pad and Tony stepped out of it, the magician walking protectively ahead of him, daring Steve to try and get near him but when did Steve ever back down from a challenge.He started trotting towards him just when Natasha caught his hand--

"Get on the jet Steve,"Natasha said with a practiced neutral face. "But--"

"Do you trust me?" she asked him, not even budging on the grip."Yes Tasha always but I have to.."

"Then do yourself a favour and don't! You will regret it.Get on the jet," she told him before going forward herself and pulling Tony into a hug.

Steve was confused but he trusted Natasha.After one longing look, he decided to listen because he owed her one afterall and his strike team that included Bucky were calling at him to hurry up. But just before he headed to the mission he heard them mutter something.

"What's an oncologist," he asked Bucky as they took off."Why does Tony need one?"

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony looked only a tiny bit surprised before he sank into the warmth of Nat's embrace. "When the fuck were you going to tell me!" Natasha spat. "What were you thinking, How?!" she ranted, breath hitching and all her training betraying her as she felt her eyes go dry and water brimming on their hinges.

"Not here, " Strange said, "To the bedroom, he needs to rest, follow us," and so she walked behind them, a thousand questions swirling in her mind.

"I am not even going to ask how you found out, but you can't tell anyone!" was the first thing Tony said as they got to the room and Strange deposited him on the bed and he tried to calm down his laboured breathing.Short walks exhausted him now. "Did you hack into Friday again after promising me not to?!"

"You just said you were not gonna ask--" Natasha started. "I didn't, " she finally admitted. "Clint and I-- we were in the vents.We were concerned that you had cut off from us but--"she went silent. "I hacked into cameras in the bunker.Why didn't you say anything- I.....we could have helped, we could have....Oh Tony! " she fell to her knees.

"What makes you think any of deserve to know," Strange questioned before Tony could reply. If Friday had not contacted me in time, cancer would have been the least of our problems. " Strange fumed, unable to bring himself to say that it could have killed him instead of giving him cancer.

"Strange.." Tony coughed. "Leave us? " he asked. He honestly couldn't have mustered up any energy to argue with Strange if he insisted on staying but Strange respected boundaries. Vishanti knew he himself need those. "I will be nearby," Strange said, ''giving Tony's shoulder a squeeze, and marching out, glaring at widow, silently daring her to cause him any more pain.

"Nat--I" Tony halted to cough again."I what?" Natasha asked, glaring at him. "You didn't think we would care?"she shook her head, standing up catching the railing of his bed.

"I--didn't want to be a bother-" Tony sighed, too exhausted to delve into the fact that nobody was really going to give a shit unless he didn't get the job done for them."Tony!" she began as Tony shifted from his sitting position to lie down and Natasha cradled his head and deposited him softly on the pillow.

"Whatever you think Tony, we care, we all do-" Tony huffed a small laugh."Sure thing Rushman," he spat."The thing is you know how I am. I don't care anymore, not about legolas, not the witch, not capsicle and not-"

"Not about me.." Natsha completed it for him, saving him the trouble. "The thing is Tony I have known you too long to fall for that." she deadpanned. "Don't push us away," she begged, "Please, you need us and we need you,"

"NO," Tony retorted, "I needed you, as in the past but it doesn't matter anymore," Tony coughed up small drops of blood and Natasha wiped it softly with a tissue.

"Don't?" Tony asked.

"What-"

"Don't pretend, I will not cut the funding. SI will continue to fund you if that's what you are here for,"

"Tony-..........how could you think, I can't even.." Natasha sighed."You think that's all we have ever had?! I .......really?" she asked ,moving into his personal space."Tell me you didn't feel those things when I came up close like this first time, applied concealer for you.All the late night talks, cuddles so we both could sleep without dreams, tell me Tony!" she retorted, "Tell me it didn't mean anything,"she whimpered, barely holding in the sobs.

"It didn't," Tony deadpanned, "I thought it never did to you.That's why it was so easy to betray me and help spangles " he whispered.

"He played me too," Nat interrupted, "Said that there were more winter soldiers to be stopped. Said there could be another project insight and I trusted him. I trusted him to always do the right thing.I was wrong okay," she grabbed his palm. "Your anger is justified, some spy I am. Failed to read him. Misfiled the first report on you. Iron man yess. Tony Stark indespensible!" she yelled.

"I--" Tony began, "Doesn't matter just don't tell him. I don't want to watch him live with the guilt.At least let me have that choice....I can't--"

"He is going to live with the ghost of that guilt the rest of his life Tony." Natasha said. "The guilt of losing your love. But we are not losing you. I am not ready for it. I have seen you die once. You worked it out.You can work this out too. I trust you," Natasha pleaded honestly, she needed this hope and she needed to give it to him.''Dr Cho and Strange are with you this time.."

"Nat-" Tony said. "I have to stop you right there. Even sorcerer supreme is not a God-"

"That's brilliant."Natasha said." Tony why aren't you factoring in that we do know a few Gods. Loki is a powerful mage. There must be some answer to this, somewhere in the universe, we just have to track them and-"

"Don't do that.."Tony said again, "Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I want this, I deserve this. I don't deserve lov-" Natasha shut him up with a soft kiss on his cracked lips."

"You deserve to be loved.Get that in your fat head," she croaked.

"Wow--I....ever heard of consent Rushman?"Tony sassed. "Tell me you didn't want that,"Natasha raised an eyebrow and Tony went silent.She kissed him on the forehead again."You are not dying on my watch Mr. Stark," she said as Tony closed his eyelids, tears streaking down his somber face."Get some rest Tony, I love you," she said fiddling with his remaining brown curls."Me too.." Tony managed to say before giving in to the exhaustion and Natasha marched out of the room, heading on to a new mission.The mission? Find a way to save the man she loved at all costs.She didn't care if she had to kiss Hydra's ass or Asgard for that.She meant what she said.


End file.
